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Switching paths
For many sales people a few years into their career, the leap from sales to marketing can seem an attractive, perhaps even obvious, step. Yet, as a by-product of our research into how firms make and implement marketing strategies, we find this move often falls short of expectations. The consequences for both the individual and the firm can be serious, so it is worth examining both the underlying reasons for this failure and the practical lessons that come from our observations.
At a fundamental level, when the move from sales to marketing fails, it is the result of information asymmetry, combined with poor communication, and compounded by irrational decision making. The information asymmetry comes from the fact that sales people rarely appreciate what marketers actually do and their recruiting marketers often don't fully understand how the salesperson's capabilities match the marketing role. This alone would not be an issue, if it were not that, in haste and pressed by other objectives, both sides generally spend too little time communicating the facts to each other. To make matters worse, the highly personal nature of career changes often leads to both sides being heavily biased by personal feelings and impressions of each other.
These deep-seated problems account for the frequent disappointment on both sides. The good news is that they are not insurmountable. Our research suggests that there are a number of simple things the sales person and the recruiter can do. These can be summed up as three golden rules. First, move for the right reasons. Don't move because you are tired of sales or think the grass is greener in marketing. Move only if you think the job matches your capabilities and attributes and if it fits your long-term career plan. Second, move to the right place. Not all marketing jobs are the same, even if they have similar titles. The size and structure of the company and the lifecycle stage of the product make a big difference to what marketing involves. Move only when you understand what the job really entails. Finally, move strategically. Your move to marketing shouldn't be the only change you make. Since it should be part of a long-term plan, you should also look into gaining new qualifications in marketing and joining the right professional body.
Why move?
When we asked people who have moved from sales to marketing why they did it, both positive and negative reasons emerged. The negative reasons range from the chronic ("I don't really enjoy sales") to the acute ("I hate my new boss"). People who move for these reasons often look at the move to marketing through rose-coloured spectacles, and grab the first chance they get, but soon regret the decision. As one research respondent said, "The reasons I had were good reasons for changing the [sales] job I had, however not for taking the [marketing] job I was offered. But it's hard to see that when you're a bit angry and impatient."
Those giving positive reasons were much more likely to look back on the decision happily. Positive reasons included things about themselves ("I'm not just good at sales, I'm good at influencing and persuading") and things about the new role ("It uses my analytical skills much more"). To quote another, much happier, salesperson-turned-marketer, "I could have stayed in sales and been reasonably happy, but this role is a much better fit with what I love doing."
The fundamental lesson is that a move from sales should be considered only if there are strong positive reasons for doing it and not simply because one is bored with a sales role. This is especially true when considering a move to a marketing role that can, from the other side of the fence, seem powerful and glamorous. Most experienced marketers will laugh at those adjectives and tell you that their "power" is tightly constrained and that any glamour is largely illusory. Sales people seeking to move should know this and recruiting marketers should ask the right questions to ensure their interviewee is not naive about the true nature of marketing.
Why this job?
Even when people move for positive reasons, they sometimes find their new role disappointing. Alternatively their new boss thinks them unsuitable. It is common for both sides to misjudge how well the individual will fit into the new job. In large part, this is because marketing jobs vary greatly. Until one works in marketing, it is hard to grasp the true extent and nature of the function. Many sales people see only the marketing communications part of the job, which involves the "creative" and "fun" tasks of designing promotional campaigns. However, there is a lot more to marketing than this. A full marketing role also involves analysing and understanding the market and using that insight to create strategies and monitor and measure the results. Each of these things includes dozens of sub-tasks. Just as important, the balance of all these myriad tasks varies greatly, even between jobs that have the same title. As one respondent said, "This is my third [brand manager] job in two companies. Each job has been very different. The job title tells you almost nothing."
The lesson is that recruiters should make clear what the role really involves and the sales person should examine that description very carefully. It's tempting for both sides to emphasise the attractive and downplay the rest, but this builds problems for the future. In good firms, a job offer comes with a complete description and a profile of the ideal candidate. This should reflect the real nature of the job, defined as it is by the size of company, the way it is structured and the lifecycle (and therefore marketing objectives) of the product.
What else?
We are mostly involved in research and advise at a senior level, so our work is generally with marketing leaders. Those that were once in sales are able to provide a longer-term perspective on the transition. Although ours is a biased sample in that we tend to meet only examples that have made a success of their move, the experiences of salespeople-turned-successful-marketers provides us with the third key lesson. To quote one manager, "It's not just about moving jobs, it's about making yourself into a professional marketer." Just as professional accountants or scientists do, professional marketers need appropriate skills, knowledge, qualifications and professional standing. Our observation, therefore, is that those whose sales-to-marketing move led to long-term success were also those who did other things to ensure their future achievements. Prominent was getting a heavyweight marketing qualification, such as the Chartered Institute of Marketing's Post-Graduate Diploma or an MBA. In the latter case, specialised courses such as the Open University's MBA in Life Sciences Management were especially useful. The second key move was to join a professional body such as the Chartered Institute of Marketing, which supports continuing professional development.
Without this continuous career management, even sales people who made a good move and fitted in well found themselves at a disadvantage compared to their better-qualified and professionally-recognised colleagues. In the race to senior levels, ability and commitment are necessary, of course, but not sufficient on their own. In the words of one business unit leader, "Marketing, more than other functions, has to prove its professionalism and that's very difficult unless I can point to my certificates on the wall and stay abreast of new developments."
If nothing else can be learned from our research, it is that the sales-to-marketing leap demands more thought and care than many enthusiastic but naive young sales people give it. The result of an ill-thought-out move can be very damaging, both for the individual and the business. Understanding the basic issue of information asymmetry and applying the three basic lessons outlined here can reduce the risk greatly. For both parties, this is surely a good thing.
The Author
Dr Brian D Smith is a visiting research fellow at the Open University Business School, and runs PragMedic, a specialist strategy consultancy. He welcomes comments and questions to: brian.smith@pragmedic.com
